death
of an ordinary courier, but it is less serious than the loss of a
promising officer, who, moreover, is exposed to the risks of the
battlefield in addition to those of a posting journey. A great number of
vigorous men well skilled in their business begged to be allowed to do
this duty, but the Emperor never consented.

Just as I was starting from Tudela, Major Saint-Mars hazarded a remark
intended to dissuade Lannes from sending me over the mountains. The
marshal, however, answered, 'Oh, he will meet Ney's advance guard
to-night, and find troops echelonned all the way to the Emperor's
head-quarters.' This was too decided for any opposition, so I left
Tudela November 4, at nightfall, with a detachment of cavalry, and got
without any trouble as far as Taragona, at the foot of the mountains. In
this little town I found Lannes' advance guard. The officer in command,
hearing nothing of Ney, had pushed an infantry post six leagues forward
towards Agreda. But as this body was detached from its supports, it had
been ordered to fall back on Taragona if the night passed without Ney's
scouts appearing.

[Illustration: 'Then, drawing their swords, they clashed at the rest']

After Taragona there is no more high road. The way lies entirely over
mountain paths covered with stones and splinters of rock. The officer
commanding our advanced guard had, therefore, only infantry and a score
of hussars of the 2nd (Chamborant) Regiment. He gave me a troop horse
and two orderlies, and I went on my way in brilliant moonlight. When we
had gone two or three leagues we heard several musket-shots, and
bullets whistled close past us. We could not see the marksmen, who were
hidden among the rocks. A little farther on we found the corpses of two
French infantry soldiers, recently killed. They were entirely stripped,
but their shakoes were near them, by the numbers on which I could see
that they belonged to one of the regiments in Ney's corps. Some little
distance farther we saw a horrible sight. A young officer of the 10th
Mounted Chasseurs, still wearing his uniform, was nailed by his hands
and feet, head downwards, to a barn door. A small fire had been lighted
beneath him. Happily, his tortures had been ended by death; but as the
blood was still flowing from his wounds, it was clear that the murderers
were not far off. I drew my sword; my two hussars handled their
carbines. It was just as well that we were on our guard, for a few
moments l